Revelation 4
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Good morning,
It sure is good to be in the house of the Lord. I’d like to invite you this morning to join me in the reading of Gods word. We will be in Revelation 4.
One of the things we need to remember this morning, is that what is unseen is more real than what is seen. We focus all of our attention in this life on things we can see hold and experience with our sense.
But there truly is a place the Bible calls it the heavenly realm where true reality actually takes place. For example the word of God tell us that the problems we face in this life really is’t the people we think are the problem or the circumstances themselves but there is a war being waged in the Heavenly places.
We learn about unseen creatures like angels and demons and we learn that there is a very real war taking place for the souls of men and women.
We learn about Satan and how he brings accusations about us before the throne of God about us.
Satan is called the accuser of the brethren, he is the one who whispers.... you know if you were really saved then you wouldnt behave this way, if you were really saved then God wouldn’t be allowing this to happen to you.
He wants us to believe God hates us and we should just walk away he wants us to think that bc bad things happen then we should think God is to blame so that way we would have an excuse to act however we want to.
He also wants us to think that death is the end and that there is no hope for us once this old body wears out. But this morning the true word of God teaches us something very different.
The Bible teaches us that there is a very real place called Heaven, and we have seen over the years person after person writing a book or making a movie about someone who says that they visited Heaven.
The story often goes like this I died and I visited HEaven but then I was revived and this is what Heaven is like...
Now I wont say that those things didn’t happen to those people, I wouldnt say that that didnt happen bc I am not them and we even see that Stephen as he was being stoned in the NT began to see Heaven while he was on Earth.
But some of those books and accounts I have read or seen I find myself scratching my head thinking well that doesnt sound like heaven to me.
But there are instances where someone very clearly saw something that matched the Biblical description and you knew they saw something.
(Myrtie Anderson)
(Gods feet her husband)
But then there are people who are very clearly decieved people who tell you there was a being of light who tells you from now on you have to understand that Jesus is nonjudgemental and it doesnt matter what you believe you will be welcomed into HEaven.
The Bible says that Satan himself is transformed into a being of light and he has decieved many by these quote near death experiences.
When it comes to talking about Heaven and Hell and eternity were always well informed when we go to the Bible and see what it has to say.
No matter how tough your week has been or what you have gone through this morning or tomorrow Would you ask God to give you an open mind and a focused mind and be changed forever by coming to know about Heaven more clearly.
The first thing we need to understand about the rest of Revelation is that this is John recording a dream which has images and symbols in it and for him this vision is so great so amazing that for him there are no words that could describe what he was seeing.
What if you were living before the stone age and you looked around and saw all of these people who had never seen a light bulb or fire… and into this environment you drove up in a car.
A you decided you were going to drive this car through the village and then you wanted the villagers to explain to the next village what they saw and to describe it.
They wouldn’t even know where to start...
They have never seen a motor they have never seen a windsheild they have never sen a wheel and now they with thier limited vocabulary are supposed to explain what they saw...
Maybe they would say something like its hard like a spear but it doesnt look like a spear and mayeb they would say this is the kind of spear or stone you can get into and it has four things that are under it that make it move
You get the point they couldn’t do it
This is why you find so many opinions about the book of Revelations there are mixed metaphors descriptions and symbols John is doing the best that he can.
But I believe you will see as we move into the next part of this book that the Bible can and will explain itself if you open your mind and let it.
After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
We have to understand this is the third Heaven, the first Heaven is where the birds are… and then beyond that is what is called the second Heaven where the moon and the stars are, but now this passage takes us straight into the Third Heaven the very Throneroom and dwelling place of God.
God exists everywhere he is Omnipresent he is everywhere but what the text is telling us is that there is some central location where God is localized so you can say this is the throneroom of God
This is what John sees now there are those who say this is where the church is raptured, and quite honestly I dont see how they figure that. This is one man not the whole church and he is taken into the throneroom of God to show him things he must record for the church in the future so this cannot be talking about the rapture but this is what some people want you to believe.
After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
These things MUST take place after this this is why we know that the rest of the book of Revelation is all future and it is telling us what is going on in Heaven while the judgements are piling on Earth as God finally judges and wraps up history.
These are the things John sees
Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was set there in heaven. One was seated on the throne,
By the way the One seated on the throne is not described
and the One seated looked like jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne.
Obviously the person on this throne is God
This is God the Father seated on the throne of the universe
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple.
This is the throne of God Himself!
We even see in other passages that Ezekiel has a similar vision
JASPER- This is speaking about his apearance as something like a diamond but it is not a cut diamond like we understand it would be straight pearl light the brightest light no doubt John had ever seen.
CARNELIAN--- SARDIS- This was a JEwel that came from the city of Sardis and is a bright red ruby.
What John wants us to understand is that the person on the throne is incredibly beautiful and John is blown away man and he is trying to grasp for words so we can understand Gods beauty
The Bible also says that around the throne is a rainbow that is like a emerald.
What else happens around throne?
Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
This is a terrifying throne it reminds us of the children of Israle at mt siania where flashes of lightning and thunder are coming and God says stay back and get back if you come close to the mountain you will be incinerated and if an animal gets close dont touch the animal shoot him with an arrow ata distance bc God is coming.
When it says that there are 7 torches which represent the 7 spirits of God dont ever think there are actually 7 holy spirits but this is simply a reference to the fullness of the Spirit
Ministry of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit of God mediates Jesus Christ to us today while Jesus is away
But what is happening?
You see there in Heaven right now as we speak God is the focal point of Heaven, it is not the streets of gold it is not the angels singing the very first thing that leaves John in awe is the THRONE OF ALMIGHTY GOD
IM TELLING YOU IN HEAVEN TODAY THE MAIN THING IS VERY CLEAR THE FOCAL POINT OF ALL PARADISE IS THE CREATOR AND KING OF THE UNIVERSE GOD ALMIGHTY
He is trying to convey the majesty of God the beauty of God and its right in the middle of HEaven God dwells here!
ONE THRONE
But then we also see that there are lesser thrones
Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads.
WHo are they?
12 representatives from the tribes of Israel
12 apostles
Old testament saints New testament saints all worshipping Gods majesty
They are worshipping but all throughout the book of Revelation you see they are involved
The 24 elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God,
saying:
We thank You, Lord God, the Almighty,
who is and who was,
because You have taken Your great power
and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry,
but Your wrath has come.
The time has come
for the dead to be judged
and to give the reward
to Your servants the prophets,
to the saints, and to those who fear Your name,
both small and great,
and the time has come to destroy
those who destroy the earth.
SO there you have the elders continuing to worship later in the book of Revelation
Now if you look there are the 24 elders but there are other beings closer to the throne than the elders
Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle and around the throne.
Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying:
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
Dont ever get the impression that in Heaven there was a lion and an ox in Heaven there was an eagle in flight no remember what I said
John is grasping for something to associate it with because he doesnt have the words to desribe what he is seeing
These are Cherubim
Some say the lion represents royalty and ox represents strength
But where do you get that?
That is only human opinion and guessing, but in Isaiah we learn they have 6 wings and with 2 they cover their faces bc not even angels can look directly at God and his holiness.
With 2 they cover thier feet and they do that bc they know they canot stand before the Lord
with 2 they fly and they fly in obedience and day and night without ever getting tired they are giving praise and honor and thanks to God
They are also found throughout the book of Revelation
When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
SO lets recap in Heaven right now you have the throne of God with God seated upon it, you have the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures
So walk with me through Heaven as we make our way towards this throne which is glorious and majestic and terrifying, we are walking and we see these 7 torches which are the spirits of God.
As we get closer we see the 24 elders and they are worshipping, as we pass them we see the 4 living creatures which are right there at the throne but there is somone closer still
Whats going on in HEaven?
Whats going on in HEaven?
Do we just sit around on a cloud singing hymns all day?
Let me tell you something Heaven will not be boring you will be more active than you ever were here on this Earth
WORSHIP CEASLESLY
The closest around the throne are the 4 living creatures these are the secret service or special ops of angels the Cherubim and then whats the next order a little further back the 24 elders
Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying:
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
HOLY HOLY HOLY
HE IS PURE PURE PURE
HE IS CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN GOOD GOOD GOOD
PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever,
the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:
Our Lord and God,
You are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because You have created all things,
and because of Your will
they exist and were created.
So we have the living creatures next to the throne, just next to them you have 24 elders and they are falling down and casting their crowns before him and then we come to chapter 5 and we meet someone even closer
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands.
They said with a loud voice:
The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!
Isn’t the Bible an amazing book
Chapter 4 God the Father is being worshipped and he is being worshipped for the fact he is the creator
You get to chapter 5 Jesus is the lamb who was slain
Then I saw One like a slaughtered lamb standing between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.
Jesus is being worshipped now because SCROLL TITLE DEED OF THE EARTH!!!!
And they sang a new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because You were slaughtered,
and You redeemed people
for God by Your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
They are praising Jesus for His redemption
The question is sometimes asked why do we have to give praise to God?
Does HE really need it?
I mean if you have a human being who always walks around needing praise we dont like people like that. THey dont deserve it
GOD IS THE CREATOR AND EVEN IF YOU SAY I BUILT IT REALLY?
WHO CREATED YOU AND GAVE YOU A MIND AND CREATED THE MATERIALS YOU BUILT IT WITH
WHO ALLOWS YOUR HEART TO KEEP BEATING MOMENT BY MOMENT
WHO SUPPLIES THE BREATH THAT YOU TAKE IN MOMENT BY MOMENT
OH CHURCH WE OUGHT NEVER QUESTION THE WORTHINESS OF GOD
HE IS WORTHY OF EVERYTHING I HAVE TO GIVE EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY EVERY BREATH EVERY HEARTBEAT BELONG TO HIM THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS!
(GET YOUR OWN DIRT JOKE)
WE OWE IT TO GOD TO GIVE HIM CEASLESS PRAISE BC BY HIS WILL AND HIS PLEASURE WE WERE CREATED AND ALL FOR HIS GLORY AND HONOR AND HE DESERVES ALL PRAISE IN THE UNIVERSE
YOU DONT AND I DONT BC EVERYTHING WE ARE AND HAVE COMES FROM HIM
ALL THE PRAISE GOES TO GOD
What are the 2 bottom lines?
Do you notice in this pasdsage there is really only one great THRONE
All the others are sitting on thrones but they are casting their crowns before Him they get off their thrones There is only one throne in the universe
It belongs to God
PRESIDENT IF YOU WANT TO GOD IS SEATED UNMOVED
FAME AND FIRTUNE IF YOU WANT BUT GOD IS ON THE THRONE
WHEN JESUS RETURNS ON HIS HEAD WILL BE MANY DIADEMS OR CRWONS WHY MANY?
IN Ancient times when a King lost a war he would take the crown off his head and give it to the king who won the war....
In the end there is only one winner JESUS CHRIST THE LORD GOD AND KING!
